Welcome to the Online Clann Tartan Newsletter for August 2009

It's coming up to that time of the year again!

That's right -- the staff elections are right around the corner on Saturday, November 7st, 2009, so it's time now to start thinking about running if you're interested, and voting regardless. Some quick answers to questions you may have: Who is eligible to vote? Anyone who is a paid member and is recognized by at least one member of the Staff and one member of the Board can vote. There will be absentee ballots (but not proxy ballots--this is to follow the Bylaws), but they won't be anonymous--we need to verify you are a current member, so your name will have to be on it. Better still, attend the Quarterly members meeting and vote in person! What am I voting for? We will be electing a Captain, Head Camp Follower, and Staff. The Captain, like the Head Campfollower, reports directly to the CoS, and with the HCF is responsible for making sure that shows run smoothly--scheduling the demos, scheduling guard duty, making sure weapons and powder are on hand, and many other duties. The HCF works with the Captain to plan the camp and the activities, and plans meals and sees to it that the food is purchased and the meals cooked and kitchen cleaned up. The final positions are staff--they report directly to the Captain and HCF, and perform the duties assigned to them. We don't have a set number of these--it depends on who is interested. How do I find out more information? There are a few ways -- the manual is one of them, the best way is to talk to a current or former staff person and find out what is involved. All your staff members are listed in the newsletter. How do I get nominated? There are a few ways:
 Have a friend of yours nominate you by sending information to Heidi Johnson, the Secretary, or to any other Board Member (e-mail addresses below) or to the Board as a whole (e-mail board@clanntartan.org)
 Nominate yourself the same way, show up at the meeting and toss your ring into the hat, or don't show up have your friends nominate you--Just kidding--you have to agree to run to be voted in. How much time is involved? There are monthly staff meetings of 1-2 hours duration, plus all the prep time getting ready for shows. With everyone helping, your time commitment can be smaller. The CoS, HCF, and Captain usually also attend the Board meetings monthly which are usually about 2 hours long. As always, everyone is welcome to attend the meetings! What if I have a question you didn't answer? Call, email or write, or show up at the meeting and ask - that's the best way!
Please mark your calendars now for the November members' meeting and elections, Saturday, November 7, at the Yoder's house at noon. Even more important, please consider running for one of the open positions. Any of the incumbents will be happy to fill you in on what the position entails. We really need people who are able to put in some time and effort to keep our organization running. If you think that what we do is worthwhile or fun, please consider helping out!

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Upcoming events

We have two events each month in August, September, and October. Please let Julie know if you plan to attend.

September 12, Scottish Heritage Festival, First Presbyterian Church, Hudson, WI http://fpchudson.com/
A day trip event. We will set up the evening before and can camp if we wish. Event hours are 11:00-5:00. Hudson is 30 miles east of Minneapolis.

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September 19-20, North East South Dakota Celtic Faire, Aberdeen, SDhttp://www.nesdcelticfaire.com/
A new event for us, this is a Highland Games event. We will plan to arrive Friday evening and set up camp. We have been given permission to leave early on Sunday afternoon so we can get home at a reasonable time. Aberdeen is about 275 miles west of Minneapolis -- yes, this is a long drive, but looks like it will be a fun event and they are paying us well. Remember, car pooling and gas reimbursement are possibilities.

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September 30-October 4, Big Island Rendezvous, Albert Lea MNhttp://www.bigislandfestivalandbbq.org/
We will again set up early, but the date has not yet been decided -- watch your September newsletter for the date. We are committed to 9 demo stations on Thursday and Friday. This is usually a very well attended event, so if you wish to use a Clann tent, let Julie know early! We have outdoor privs and can take showers at the school early in the mornings. Cars are not allowed on the grounds during the event, so if you plan to arrive late or leave early you will have to carry all your gear in or out on the shuttle busses, which run from the remote parking lot to the site during certain hours. Please also go to this page http://www.bigislandfestivalandbbq.org/participate.htm and click on Application/Information for Big Island Rendezvous and go to page two for the rules. Albert Lea is about 100 miles South of Minneapolis.

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October 8-10, Mankato History Fair, Mankato MNhttp://www.historyfest.com/sections/history.php
This is a very fun event! We will set up Wednesday evening. Thursday and Friday are school days and Saturday is open to the public. We will tear down Saturday evening, but individuals can camp Saturday night if they wish, and return home on Sunday. Please note that we, as a group, are not doing the White Oak Rendezvous in Deer River this year. Clann Tartan individuals who wish to participate may camp for free, however.

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Gaffneyis Got Talent

When I first joined Gaffneyis, every year or so the newsletter came with a list of what different members make - clothing, leather goods, whatever.

We are putting together such a list of in-house talent. If you wish take advantage of this free advertising, please let David know that you want to be on the list, along with what you make or can help others make.

Road Trip

Clann has an on-again, off-again tradition of biennial major trips. Two
years ago, the planned trip to Philadelphia got cancelled. But four years
ago, ten members went to Philadelphia for a Seige of Stralsund
reenactment. They participated with many other groups from up and down
the east coast. The event was staged in Fort Mifflin, a French and Indian
era fort that is walled similarly to a 17th c European town. The
participants also took in some sightseeing in historic Philadelphia. In
prior years the group has gone to Maryland and Virginia for other battle
reenactments.

One proposal for a future trip was to head south to meet with a group
from Texas. Lisa Gillstrom McCanna has the details on the Texas group.
This is only one possibility, if you know of other likely events that
should be considered, please get the details, including dates and
location to staff. staff@clanntartan.org Staff needs to get any
proposals so they can decide on feasibility and worth before bringing it
to the board. The board then needs to decide on the financial aspect.
Please get any ideas to staff as soon as possible, be sure to include as
much pertinent information as is available.

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Discover the Manual

Wanted!

Submissions for the Newsletter!
Items you can submit include research articles, character sketches, and other items pertaining to living history and Scottish Culture. Email your items in either plain text, or MS Word format to newsletter@clanntartan.org or snail mail to our postal address. Items must be received by the 15th of each month to be considered for inclusion for the upcoming months issue. Mailed submissions will not be returned unless requested. All pertinent submissions will be considered as space permits. All research articles must reference at least three sources. Submissions are NOT edited for spelling or grammar, but may be broken in multiple parts.

Deadline for articles to go in September's newsletter will be the 15th of August.

II. ReportsA. Vice President
Not present.B. Treasurer
May revenue - Woodville and dues. Stipend for Ramble has not yet been received. A date by which payment should be received will be added to the contract in the future.C. Secretary
Has been soliciting committee members for the cookbook revision. Met with Hellen and reviewed policies and deadlines for newsletter.D. Quartermaster
Not present.E. Camp Rep
Not present.F. Company Rep
None.

III. Guild Reports
No new guild reports.

IV. EventsA. Drills
Will continue at Minnehaha.B. Tactical
No updates.C. Perham
Has met our request and is now a scheduled event.D. Deer River
CancelledE. Renaissance Fest
Scheduled.F. Aberdeen
We have a signed contract. Transportation question?G. Hudson
Signed contract.H Big Island
We are responsible for nine demos this year.I. Mankato
No news.J Pioneer Village
We are not on their calendar.

V. Old BusinessA. Garage
Mia asked Herb to park the trailer in such a way that a car could not be parked in there. If the landlordís tenant is parking in there, it is a violation of the lease terms. Bruce is continuing to keep an eye out for other possibilities.B. Web site
When we change over, we will establish new Yahoo! e-mail groups. Mia suggests that we automatically subscribe everyone to the chatter list.

We have a yahoo groups email list for the guild that we use for reminders about the meetings and topical discussions. If you want to be on the email list, request an invitation to join from Bruce at bruceyoder@juno.com.

Gaffneyis Glee Club

Good People
We are in the process of forming a more advanced song gathering. The focus will be on catches, rounds, and freeman's songs. These types of part songs were tremendously popular across class lines in our period.

Please contact your music chair, me, to express your interest, and to let me know what evenings would work best for you. And if you can host.

I am thinking maybe twice a month, but you can vote on that, too.

I will set it up for the day(s) with the most votes.

And if you have a better name for it than Gaffneyis Glee Club, I am all ears. It does have a nice ring to it, though.

David Vavreck
612-378-1973
baethan1630@yahoo.com

Gaffneyis Recorder Consort

We hereby announce that Gaffneyis recorder consort has started meeting again, the 1st and 3rd Thursdays each month.

We have seven members already, and are working on a bit more refined style of music than we do in our regular music meetings.

Dance

It is at the corner of 27th Av S and E 44th Street. Both
streets are one way. That block of 44th between 28th and 27th Avenues is
one way westbound and that block of 27th Av between 44th and 43rd Streets
is one way northbound. You must enter turning west onto 44th St from
28th Av and exit from 27th Av onto 43rd St.

It is at the northeast corner of Highway 36 and Hamline Avenue (Hamline is between Snelling and Lexington). The church is actually encircled by the highway entrance ramp.
The Dance Guild gathers weekly from 7PM-9PM to learn and practice historic Scottish country dances.
For more information call:

Mary at 651-699-6853 or Julie at 612-825-4519

It's a great place to meet people!

We have a yahoo groups email list for the guild that we use for reminders about the meetings and topical discussions. If you want to be on the email list, request an invitation to join from Bruce at bruceyoder@juno.com.

Fiber Guild

Those who would like instruction, inspiration, or just to come out and play are welcome at the Jen McDermotts' on the Second Sunday of the month at 2:00 PM, provided there is no conflict with other Clann events. Call Jen (651-238-5427 ), Diana Steben (651-489-2881), and Mia McDavid (651-490-1842) for more information about Fiber Guild activities, including wool spinning, weaving, and dying. Cloth, clothing and sewing as well as things like tatting, lace, knitting and embroidery will also be discussed and worked on. Feel free to bring your projects!Please RSVP 24 hours or more in advance, to allow for planning, thanks!

Historic Site

Clann Tartan has our own historic site near Duluth MN. Dun Gowan is an ongoing project, which is the site of Gaffneyis Annual Tactical in July. We are finishing the fort and beginning the construction of a village this year. Contact David Vavreck at 612-378-1973 or baethan1630@yahoo.com for further information, or to volunteer to help.

Be sure to contact your staff
if you plan on attending a show event. Try to give at least a ten day notice when possible.
This allows proper planning for the feeding of our members, and in some cases is required by event organizers to allow entry as a participant.
You can call any of the staff members listed, or send an email to staff@clanntartan.org.

The following is a list of the dates of the events that are currently on the
schedule for this year. The staff has met and decided to keep this running list
of events in the newsletter to give you a chance to get an idea of what is going
on this season as well as keep you updated to changes in the schedule.

The column titled status will include the following information.

Tentative- this means that an event organizer or Clann has expressed a strong
enough interest in doing this event that it warrants reserving space on the
calendar for the event.

Pending- this is the next stage of an event. This means that the Contracts Administrator has
entered serious discussion about Clann doing an event but we are still not
committed to the event. You should however if possible think about whether or not
you may be able to attend this event.

Scheduled- this level means that the board and staff have approve the event
and we are committed to providing manpower to making the event happen. When an
event is assigned this level please let Julie know as soon as possible if you
can or can not attend this event.

Canceled- This means that for various reasons an scheduled event has been
removed from the current season. We will try and give as much notice as we can
prior to canceling an event.

If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact me
regarding this matter

Perham Pioneer Festival Perham, MN- August 15 and 16 2009

Col. Gaffneyis Regiment is heading back to the Perham Pioneer Festival, this year on August 15 and 16. The Pioneer Festival is located in Perham, MN, about a three and a half hour drive from the Twin Cities. The site has convenient participant parking just on the other side of the museum buildings and, during the day, access to the canteen/cafe/flush toilets!

They also have a terrific indoor dance in said cafe on Saturday night. Those of us who went last year had a blast; we hope to see you there!

Directions from the Twin Cities:

Take I-94 West to Exit 167B, MN15 N, toward Saint Cloud.

After about 10 miles, merge onto MN10 West. Follow for about 30 miles, and stay with MN 10 W toward Motley for about another 80 miles.

Turn right on CR 80 and follow for 2 miles.

Turn right on N 1st Ave/CR 8.

End at 230 1st Avenue North.

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Scottish Day at Hudson Presbyterian Church Sep 12 2009

http://fpchudson.com/
A day trip event. We will set up the evening before and can camp if we wish. Event hours are 11:00-5:00. Hudson is 30 miles east of Minneapolis.

DIRECTIONS FROM ST PAUL: 94W to exit 2 Hudson WI exit- top of ramp go left (North) on Carmichael road- go 1 mile to stop light at VIne street- take a left onto Vine to First Presbyterian Church on the right hand side of vine street- (just before the church is a blinking stop sign- we are the first drive way past the sign) white church